Box Score

Delta State DSU 19-12

Florida Southern FSCM 25-7

Delta State DSU

19-12

Final

Mar. 16, 2019

Florida Southern FSCM

25-7

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Delta State DSU	35	37	72
Florida Southern FSCM	28	50	78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/16/2019 5:35:00 PM | Matt Jones

Statesmen Fall 78-72 To Mocs in NCAA South Regional

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After marching to the Gulf South Conference championship, the Delta State University men's basketball team saw its magical postseason run come to an end on Saturday, March 16 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II South Region Tournament, as the Statesmen (19-12/No. 7 seed) fell to the Mocs (25-7/No. 2 seed) of Florida Southern College, 78-72, at Rick Case Arena. FSC advances to face Lynn University, who defeated Alabama Huntsville 81-68, in the semifinals on Sunday, March 17.

"I could not be more proud of the effort our guys have put into this season," DSU head coach Jim Boone said. "This one will hurt for a while, but I don't want our young men to lose sight of what they have accomplished this year. Our senior class has represented the Delta State family with class and they have positioned us well for the future."

Brett Warner led the Statesmen with 21 points in his final game in the green and white while Matthew Wilson (17) and Cedric Harper (11) joined him in double figures.

Slinky Jones led all scorers with 23 points for the Mocs. Brett Hanson (20) and Jonathon Lawton (17) were also in double digits for FSC.

THE BASICS:
Score: Delta State 72 | Florida Southern 78
Records: Statesmen 19-12 (No. 7) | Mocs 25-7 (No. 2)
Series: FSC leads 7-3
Location | Time: Rick Case Arena | 2:30 PM
Get Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateMBB | Facebook – DSUStatesmen | Instagram – DSUAthletics

HOW IT HAPPENED

Florida Southern jumped out to a quick 17-9 lead with 12:12 left in the first half, as the Mocs got 10 points from Brett Hanson, including eight off of DSU turnovers.
The Statesmen answered back with a 16-3 run over the next eight minutes to take a 25-20 lead with 4:03 to go in the first half.
Cedric Harper's 10 points and Justin Slocum's eight powered the Statesmen down the final stretch of the first half, as Delta State built a 35-28 halftime lead.
DSU shot 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the floor in the first half with the Mocs posting 42.9 percent (9-of-21).
Delta State opened the second half by forcing two quick turnovers by the Mocs to take a 38-28 lead with 19:17 to go after Warner's three points.
Slinky Jones scored eight of FSC's next 11 points during an 11-2 run to tie the game at 40-40 with 15:34 to play in the second half.
A layup by Jonathon Lawton and a 3-pointer by E.J. Dambreville put the Mocs ahead 54-48 with 10:19 on the clock.
After one free throw apiece from Rasheide Bell and Cliff Fernandez, Florida Southern went on a 10-3 run, with five from Hanson, to take a 64-53 lead with 7:47 to go.
Over the next 3:14, the Statesmen outscored the Mocs 12-5 to cut the deficit to 69-65 with 4:44 remaining. Warner had five for DSU during the stretch, while Wilson canned a desperately needed 3-pointer.
Jack Rauch's offensive rebound and put-back with 2:28 to play extended the FSC lead by to six points, 73-67.
After Bell made it a five-point game, 76-71, with 58.3 seconds to go, Wilson had a chance to cut it to a single possession but made just 1-of-2 free throws to keep the margin at four points.
Lawton drained two free throws with 18 seconds left to make the final margin six points, 78-72, as the Mocs advanced to Sunday's semifinal versus Lynn.
Delta State finished the game shooting an outstanding 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the floor but managed just 37.5 percent from the free throw line after making 9-of-24 from the stripe. The Statesmen were also 5-of-15 from 3-point range.
Florida Southern finished the contest making 45.5 percent of its shot, including 22-of-27 (81.5 percent) from the free throw line.

TURNING POINT

After Delta State had built a 10-point, 38-28, second half lead, Florida Southern outscored the Statesmen 26-10 to get back into the contest and take a 54-38 lead with 10:19 to play.

STATS OF THE GAME

The Statesmen got the free throw line 24 times but made just nine shots while FSC was 22-of-27.
The game saw 47 total fouls called with DSU's Warner and Slocum fouling out of the contest. The Statesmen had 26 called against them after averaging 13.9 during the regular season.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

Warner, who finished with 21 points and five assists, closed his career with 1,432 points to rank sixth on the Delta State scoring list. The Collierville, Tenn., finishes his four years at DSU ranked second in 3-pointers made and attempted, 10^th in assists, and sixth in games played.
Wilson had 17 points off the bench while setting career highs for rebounds (7) and assists (6).
Bell closed the day with seven points, six rebounds and four assists.
Benford, who finishes his career with 262 assists to rank 11^th in school history, dished out four assists.
DSU's bench outscored FSC's 31-3 while the two teams finished with 32 rebounds apiece.
The Statesmen handed-out 20 assists on 29 made baskets.
The Statesmen were making a GSC-record 17th appearance in the NCAA Division II Basketball Tournament and the third under head coach Jim Boone.
Delta State added to its GSC-best five tournament championships, as the Statesmen hoisted the trophy for the sixth time a week ago Sunday with a 64-60 victory over Alabama Huntsville. DSU won the crown in 1986, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2006 and 2019.